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Scioscia weighing options for No. 2 hitter

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TEMPE, Ariz. -- The way Angels manager Mike Scioscia sees it, there are three guarantees with the club's 2013 lineup: Mike Trout will lead off, Albert Pujols will bat third and Josh Hamilton will clean up.

The No. 2 spot?

"It can be a matchup thing," Scioscia said.

"You might see [Alberto] Callaspo hitting there sometimes; you might see Howie [Kendrick]; you might see [Erick] Aybar. Ideally, if you have one guy to get on base and do everything and be that incredible No. 2 hitter, your lineup is pretty stable. But that might not be the case. So, we'll do what we have to do."

Scioscia wants to bat Pujols in front of Hamilton to take advantage of his lifetime .414 on-base percentage, which is better than Hamilton's career mark of .363. Mark Trumbo, the Angels' skipper added, would probably bat fifth most of the time, with Chris Iannetta and Peter Bourjos likely to be situated at the bottom of the lineup, at least for now.

At some point, though, Trout will probably move down, too.

"He's a terrific leadoff hitter," Scioscia said, "but he's eventually probably going to be in the middle of the lineup at some point."